Saudi police clash with militants by Sunday 04 September 2005 7:42 PM GMT Police operations took place in the town of Dammam
Police fought running gun battles with al-Qaida militants in an eastern Saudi Arabian city in clashes that killed two extremists and a police officer, a Saudi official said. The violence raged across Dammam, a city 400km northeast of the capital, Riyadh, starting at about 6 pm and continuing into the night, sending scared residents running in doors. An Interior Ministry statement said security forces were carrying out a security operation "against a number of elements affiliated to the 'deviant group'," a term usually used in reference to al-Qaida's branch in this kingdom. Street battle Dammam's Emir Mohammed Street was the scene of the initial clashes, where police exchanged gunfire with several militants, killing one and severely wounding another, who later died in hospital, the official said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media. One police officer was killed in the clashes State-run Saudi TV aired footage of what it said was the body of slain militant slumped on a street while wearing a traditional white Arab gown stained with blood. The official said that an unknown number of militants fled the scene of the initial fighting to the nearby commercial district of Hamra housing foreign companies. Police evacuated residents from several buildings in the area before scores of heavily armed security personnel surrounded a building sheltering the remaining militants. Grenades Clashes broke out again with militants firing at police from the building and one officer was killed, the official said. Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya satellite TV reported that militants fired a rocket propelled grenade and hurled hand grenades at security personnel and set one police vehicle on fire. It was unknown in which location in Dammam the grenades were used or if they were responsible for the police officer's death. It was also unknown whether any of the militants either slain or holed up inside the building were on a list of 36 most-wanted terrorists sought for connection to terror attacks in the kingdom dating back to 2003. Since May 2003, Islamic militants have carried out numerous bombings and kidnappings and have regularly battled security forces. The attacks, which have tended to target Westerners and housing complexes where Westerners live, have been blamed on al-Qaida and its allies. Saudi forces say they have gotten the upper hand against terror cells, killing or capturing all but one figure on a previous most- wanted list of 26 militants. Saudi national Talib Saud Abdullah al- Talib, who was No. 16 on the earlier list, remains at large. Agencies By You can find this article at: http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/16B887D8-29D2-44DF-99C7- E9E79BCDC38D.htm Close ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Life without art & music? Keep the arts alive today at Network for Good! http://us.click.yahoo.com/FXrMlA/dnQLAA/Zx0JAA/uTGrlB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Post message: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] List owner : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
